Personal Assets of El Monte Slavery Perpetrators Produce
More Back Wages For Employees

SAN FRANCISCO -- John Duncan, Acting Director of the California Department
of Industrial Relations today announced that the former employees of SK
Fashion are receiving an additional $202,887 in back wages.

"This money is in addition to the $1,018,021 which we distributed after our
discovery of this infamous scheme in 1995, and represents the balance of
proceeds from the auction of the perpetrators' personal property -- vehicles
and jewelry found at the location -- and settlement amounts from garment
manufacturers who had contracted with SK Fashion," Duncan said.

Ringleaders of the El Monte SK Fashion slavery/immigrant smuggling operation,
whose personal assets were auctioned off, are currently serving time in
federal prison as a result of the August 2, 1995 enforcement effort led by
the California Labor Commissioner.

That well publicized action led to freedom for 72 Thai nationals who had been
held in involuntary servitude, some for up to seven years while being forced
to manufacture garments in "repayment" for their transportation to the U.S.

California Labor Commissioner, Jose Millan, who, as an Assistant Labor
Commissioner at that time, assisted in coordinating the enforcement action
said "Every penny we can produce from this case is going toward wages owed
the former employees of SK Fashion who were denied their rights under
California law."

The 109 former employees of SK Fashions, which includes those discovered in
El Monte and employees at two other locations in Los Angeles County, will
share in the $202,887. The amount each employee receives was calculated by
determining the actual amount owed to each employee as a percentage of the
total amount owed to all employees, based on the length of time each was
employed at SK Fashion. Each employee then receives a commensurate
percentage of the amount available for disbursement.

On March 8, 1996, the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations and
the Labor Commissioner distributed a total of $1,085,521 in back wages owed
the 109 employees. This money was obtained from domestic and foreign
currency confiscated at the El Monte compound and the interest that accrued
on that money, as well as settlement proceeds from garment manufacturers who
had contracted with the El Monte operation.